HDPE pipes used in CDOT drainage systems are expected to have a 50-year design life. During the T-Rex project in 2003 a number of HDPE pipes were installed with shallow cover. Later, the majority of these pipes had to be removed and replaced after they were damaged by construction equipment driving over installed pipes, and excavations occurring near installed pipes. In this study, performance of HDPE pipes under CDOT highways was evaluated by: an...

A new service life chart for steel pipes was developed based on the information collected from the field observations and data analysis. Pipe failure criteria were established in accordance with the ongoing culvert evaluation procedure along I-70 and I-25. For the steel pipe failure cases along I-70 and I-25, the previously published service life predictors for steel pipes deviated from observations by as much as 10 times.